Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) will announce its fourth-quarter results following the closing of North American markets today. Investors and consumers alike are waiting to see if the company can bounce back from recent decline in sales due to poor device performance (exhibit a: BBM blackout) and dwindling marketshare (exhibit b: iPhone or Android).
As of now, analysts are forecasting a net profit of 82 cents a share on revenue of about $4.54 to $4.57-bln. This outcome is at the lower end of what RIM predicted their earnings to be, which was between 80-95 cents a share on $4.6-bln to $4.9-bln in revenue.
Earlier in the month, BlackBerry was dethroned from its number one smartphone status in Canada, shipping 2.08 million smartphones last year compared to Apple Inc.’s much higher 2.85 million in the same period. This is a stark change from 2008, when BlackBerry outsold iPhones nearly five to one.
Earnings for the company today will decide whether or not they are still a contender in the smartphone market. The company has tried its hand at other handheld devices, releasing the BlackBerry PlayBook to contend with Apple’s iPads, but response has been largely tepid.
Heins replaced RIM’s Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis in late January after the company lost tens of billions of dollars in market value. Last year, RIM shares fell more than 75 per cent, losing about $30-bln in market value. Since Heins jumped on board, the shares have fallen another 8 per cent.
Details of the earnings will be released Thursday at 4 p.m.
________
Christian Allaire writes for Toronto Standard. Follow his tweets here: @chrisjallaire.
For more, follow us on Twitter @TorontoStandard and subscribe to our newsletter.
